Hi, I'm Jean Campbell, creator of "Can Do" Street. Welcome to the "Can Do" Blog for Parents and Teachers. This blog is a place for sharing information important to families and teachers of children 3-7 years. Please share with us on any topic appropriate to the needs and interests of families and teachers of children from pre-school through second grade.

Posts belonging to Category health tips

The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Offers the Following Food Safety Tips for the Holiday.

Wash hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds before and after handling any food. Wash food-contact surfaces (cutting boards, dishes, utensils, counter tops) with hot, soapy water after preparing each food item. Rinse fruits and vegetables thoroughly under cool running water and use a produce brush to remove surface dirt.

Do not rinse raw meat and poultry before cooking in order to avoid spreading bacteria to areas around the sink and counter tops.

When shopping in the store, storing food in the refrigerator at home, or preparing meals, keep foods that won’t be cooked separate from raw eggs, meat, poultry or seafood—and from kitchen utensils used for those products.

Consider using one cutting board only for foods that will be cooked (such as raw meat, poultry, and seafood) and another one for those that will not (such as raw fruits and vegetables).

Do not put cooked meat or other food that is ready to eat on an unwashed plate that has held any raw eggs, meat, poultry, seafood, or their juices.

Use a food thermometer to make sure meat, poultry, and fish are cooked to a safe internal temperature. To check a turkey for safety, insert a food thermometer into the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. The turkey is safe when the temperature reaches 165°F. If the turkey is stuffed, the temperature of the stuffing should be 165°F.

Bring sauces, soups, and gravies to a rolling boil when reheating.

Cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm. When making your own eggnog or other recipe calling for raw eggs, use pasteurized shell eggs, liquid or frozen pasteurized egg products, or powdered egg whites.

Don’t eat uncooked cookie dough, which may contain raw eggs.

Refrigerate leftovers and takeout foods—and any type of food that should be refrigerated, including pie—within two hours.

Set your refrigerator at or below 40°F and the freezer at 0°F. Check both periodically with an appliance thermometer.

Thaw frozen food safely in the refrigerator, under cold running water, or in the microwave—never at room temperature. Cook food thawed in cold water or in the microwave immediately.

Allow enough time to properly thaw food. For example, a 20-pound turkey needs four to five days to thaw completely in the refrigerator.

Don’t taste food that looks or smells questionable. When in doubt, throw it out.

Bacteria will creep up on you if you let platters of food sit out for too long. Don’t leave perishable goodies out for more than two hours at room temperature (1 hour in temperatures above 90°F).

Beware of unpasteurized juice or cider that can contain harmful bacteria such as E.coli O157:H7 and Salmonella. Serve only pasteurized products at your Halloween party.

Remind kids (and adults too!) to wash their hands before and after eating to help prevent foodborne illness.

Bobbing for Apples – Try a new spin on bobbing for apples. Cut out lots of apples from red construction paper. Write activities for kids to do on each apple, such as “say ABCs” or “do 5 jumping jacks”. Place a paper clip on each apple and put them in a large basket. Tie a magnet to a string or create a fishing pole with a dowel rod, magnet and yarn. Let the children take turn “bobbing” with their magnet and doing the activity written on their apple.

Give children a fresh apple for participating in your food safe version of bobbing for apples.

Take the American Heart Association Challenge and change your salty ways!

The heart and stroke experts launched a three-week Sodium Swap Challenge that started on Jan. 7. The group is calling upon Americans to identify and track the Salty Six — the foods in their diet loaded with extra salt that increase their risk for heart disease and stroke. The goal is for Americans to limit sodium intake to no more than 1,500 milligrams each day. Currently, the typical American consumes more than twice that.

Never mind giving up the salt shaker, it will take more than that to lower your sodium intake. Americans can dramatically reduce their daily salt intake by cutting bread, cold cuts and cured meats from their diet, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

Limiting condiments and reading nutritional labels are other ways to kick a high-sodium habit, the experts noted in an association news release. They also said people can change their palate and enjoy foods with less salt in just 21 days.

“To get started with the association’s challenge, we ask that consumers get familiar with the food labels and nutrition facts for the foods they eat and track their sodium consumption over the first two days to get an idea of how much they are eating, which I’m sure will be surprising to many people,” said Rachel Johnson, spokeswoman for the associations and professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont. “Then, over the course of the next three weeks, consumers will use the Salty Six as their guide to help lower their sodium intake.”

During the first week of the challenge, Americans are asked to limit consumption of bread, rolls, cold cuts and cured meats. A slice of bread can contain more than 200 mg of sodium and one serving of turkey cold cuts as much as 1,050 mg. It’s also recommended that you check food labels and track sodium consumption daily.

For the second week, Americans are asked to opt for lower-salt versions of pizza and poultry. The idea is to choose foods with less cheese or meat and more vegetables. Poultry should also be skinless and not processed or fried.

Focus on soup and sandwiches during the third week, the associations said. Soups often contain up to 940 mg of sodium per serving. Layering meats, cheese and condiments to a sandwich can add more than 1,500 mg of sodium.

After three weeks, the experts said challenge participants should notice a difference in how they feel after eating and how their food tastes.

The United States Department of Agriculture,USDA has an extensive site for parents of preschool and elementary school age children featuring comprehensive nutrition plans, daily meal and snack plans for parents to reference and games that children can play that stress good eating habits. Go to:

Got a picky eater? The USDA has extensive information that can help parents get the picky eater to eat food necessary for good nutrition at

Another great USDA site to visit for a personalized nutrition and physical activity plan, the ability to track your foods and physical activities to see how they stack up and to get tips and support to help you make healthier choices and plan ahead is: